Nowhere To Run
by Lanna Suki
Summary: Kaoru and her younger brother, Yahiko moved from Tokyo to Los Angeles, Cal. There, she meets a man named Kenshin and the more she gets involved with him, the more danger she's in.


Okay, I have NO Clue how this fic got deleted.. but.. luckilly I had it posted on livejournal..so, here!  
  
I don't know Rurouni Kenshin or the characters. So don't sue me, I have no money.  
  
~~~  
  
Kaoru used the back of her hand to wipe the remaining lipstick off of her lips. She pulled her back of clothes over her shoulder more as she walked down the dark street on her way back to her apartment. Tonight, she'd made at least seven-hundred dollars--more than enough for Yahiko's lunch money, and the electric bill she kept putting off. **At least I can finally pay this stupid stuff off...** she thought as she released a sigh and turned a dark corner. It had been two months since she'd moved to Los Angeles. The past two months had been hard, but it was seemingly beautiful compared to what she could be going through back in Japan. **Ah, well... best not to remember...** Instead, she focused on how brave she had been and was actually able to support herself as well as her younger half-brother, Yahiko. By the end of their first week, Kaoru had enrolled Yahiko in the local school, but barely had any money for him. All the took with her was around two hundred bucks, which barely lasted.  
  
Then she met Takani Megumi, a woman who owned a small pharmacy. She was enrolled into college, studying for her doctor's degree. She'd, too, came from Japan with her (now ex) boyfriend, Sanosuke. But ever since they broke up, Megumi's been trying to get her doctor's degree, while Sanosuke opened up a night club called Stripped. Needless to say, soon after Kaoru started working for Megumi, she realized that it wasn't paying as much as she needed.  
  
Then Megumi told her about Sanosuke and his club. At first, Kaoru was reluctant, but she really needed the money. So, she took her up on the offer, and is now one of Stripped's main exotic dancers.  
  
But earlier that night was not a night like the others. Kaoru wrapped her jacket protectively around her and frowned as she looked towards the ground, letting the events play through her mind.  
  
//"Oi, Jo-chan, I need you stay for an extra hour tonight." Sanosuke said as he leaned against the door-way to Kaoru's dressing room.  
  
Kaoru was starting to remove her make-up when Sanosuke told her. She just blinked at him.  
  
"But, Sano, I don't have anyone back at my apartment to take care of Yahiko."  
  
"I know, but we have a full-house packed tonight. I really need you. Please, Jo-chan. I'll pay you double."  
  
Kaoru sighed and stood up. She walked over to the phone and began to dail some numbers.  
  
"Yahiko? Yeah, it's me. Look, I gotta stay for another hour, okay? So I want you in bed by then." She paused. "What?! Yahiko, you little brat, you call me 'ugly' one more time--" She slammed the phone down and looked to Sanosuke. "Little brat hung up on me! Anyway, yeah, I'll stay." She sighed and walked back to her mirror to re-apply her make up.  
  
It was about fifteen minutes before closing, and most of the men who had come for the shows had left. All but two. Kaoru leaned against one of the other girls as she took her high-heeled shoes off.  
  
"Damn, I wish tomorrow wasn't a school night for the brat. I'd make him give me a foot massage."  
  
She and the girls let out a small laugh and the two men approached Kaoru. One of the men had a muscular build, dark eyes, and brown hair. He grabbed her by her left arm. The other man, who had a smaller build than the other man, blonde hair, and blue eyes grabbed her by her right arm and pulled her aside.  
  
"What in the hell do you two want?!" She screamed at them as they carried her outside. The taller man sat on an old chair outside. He wrapped his arms tightly around her to hold her with her arms clamped down so she couldn't move. The smaller man then began to massage her feet for her.  
  
"Aw, baby, we're just trying to help you relax and all." The smaller man said with a smirk. His hand then moved from her foot to her ankle, and slowly up her leg. Kaoru then kicked his hand off.  
  
"I don't care, let me go!" She started to struggle, but the man's grip was too tight.  
  
"Now, baby, you can't go without us having some fun." He smirked down at her. The smaller man stood up and began to move his hands around her thighs. Kaoru started to kick at him with her feet, but the taller one wrapped his legs around hers to stop her. A figure then moved out of the shadows.  
  
"Excuse me, but I don't think the lady wants your hands all over her."  
  
The two men turned to look at the third man. He was short, very. Probably no taller than the woman they had. Also, his long, red hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. He had a very distinct trait that stood out--a cross-shaped scar across his left cheek.  
  
"Oh, really? How do you know what this chick wants or not?" The taller man said as he squeezed Kaoru tight in his arms, causing her to release a pained sound. The red-haired man's eyes narrowed as he saw this happening and his voice became harsh.  
  
"Let her go. Now."  
  
The small man moved away from Kaoru and began to walk towards the red-haired man. The taller man stood up and threw Kaoru to the ground and made his way to the red-haired man as well. Kaoru new this was her chance to escape so she ran back inside and told Sanosuke what happened. A few minutes later, Sanosuke and Kaoru ran outside to find the two men beaten up and laying on the ground. Kaoru looked around for the red-haired man who saved her, but he was nowhere to be found.//  
  
She sighed and smiled some. **At least there's one man in this city that I know is decent.** She turned the corner to walk through a short cut she found--an alley way. She knew the dangers of walking along through here at night, but she had done so plenty of times that she didn't carry any kind of protection with her. Just then, two trash cans were knocked over, causing Kaoru to jump back some. She held her breath as her heart raced. A big, orange alley cat crawled from the trashcans. Kaoru sighed and laughed some.  
  
"Get a grip, Kaoru... you're just imagining things. It's just a cat."  
  
"Not only a cat." A familiar voice said. Kaoru felt fear rising up inside of her. **Oh, hell...** She gulped and slowly turned around, meeting the familiar eyes of the dark man from the club. She gasped and began to move backwards, only to find herself being caught from behind.  
  
"Damnit, let me--" She tried to scream out, but her mouth was quickly covered by the blonde-haired man's hand.  
  
"Shhh... now, now, now. We don't want to wake up the people, do we?"  
  
Kaoru's eyes widened in fear. This time, there was no one to help her. 


End file.
